Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2004, and it was featured on the front cover of our Christmas card. Mattie was two and a half years old here and by that point in time, he understood the nature of Christmas and I could rationalize with him about posing under the tree for a photo. To me there was something angelic about Mattie's facial expression here!


Quote of the day: Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most. ~ Ruth Carter Stapleton


My mother in law celebrated a milestone birthday today. One of her friends gave her four tickets to an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) as a gift. The exhibit was entitled, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain. It is a great title, because most women will get it immediately! There are times we want to put our feet in beautiful and attractive shoes, yet that usually means the shoe isn't comfortable and we will experience the PAIN that comes along with the PLEASURE of dressing up! In any case, this exhibit was right up my alley, since I LOVE shoes and have plenty in my own closet.

This "Red Stilleto" car art greets all visitors into the museum. This is a REAL car and a man designed it for his girlfriend! 

The exhibit, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain, was organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and explores the creative potential, cultural significance and transformative power of footwear through more than 300 pairs, ranging from elaborate vintage designs to cutting-edge contemporary works by Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Prada. 

Examples from famed shoe collectors are shown alongside a dazzling range of works from PEM’s shoe collection, the largest of its kind in the country, many of which have never been displayed before. Shoes: Pleasure and Pain offers a global perspective on footwear fashion and tracks the latest developments in technology that open the possibility of ever higher heels and more dramatic shapes.

Coordinating curator for the exhibit said, “The shoes that we choose for walking are not just about protecting our feet. They project our mood, our identity and our place in the world. By altering stature, posture and gait, shoes signal to the world how you feel about yourself and want to be perceived by others.”

These "parakeet" shoes were one of my favorites!

The exhibition is organized by the themes – Transformation, Status, Seduction, Creation and Obsession – and features shoes worn by high profile figures such as David Beckham, Elton John, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, Kylie Minogue and Daphne Guinness, as well as the now infamous blue platforms worn by Naomi Campbell (these blue ones) during her runway fall in 1993. Works from the V&A’s superlative shoe collection are complemented by 110 pairs from PEM’s collection, including historic shoes that pay tribute to New England as a meaningful center for shoe manufacture and design. The curator said, "Shoes are about the personal creativity of the designer and the person who wears that shoe. It's a partnership between two people who likely never meet. You can make something wonderful, but if someone doesn't respond to it, there is something incomplete about the act." 

Creation is about communication. "Fashion often conjures thoughts of creativity in our own life and can serve as a conversation-starter about personal style. In the Status section of the exhibition, you can't help but examine the role of power and shoes, what someone feels and becomes when they put on a pair of tall boots or a high heel.

Shoe boxes were used very creatively throughout the exhibit! These boxes are arranged to look like a giant shoe!

How about these heels! Some are made out of porcelain, to look like Wedgwood!

These festive shoes were another favorite of mine. 

In 2014, Mattie Miracle received the special Flame of Hope award from Georgetown University Hospital at a black tie gala. Because of the nature of the occasion, I bought a special dress and shoes. The shoes I bought looked like this.... silver and designed by Jimmy Choo. Choo was featured in today's exhibit and I took notice when the exhibit signage said women seek out Choo's shoes and everyone wants to own a pair. The irony is when I went shopping I had no idea who Jimmy Choo was, I just felt the shoes were magical. Clearly you can see the pleasure and the pain of wearing these shoes, can't you??!!